Self Portrait

Heavy shadows conceal the eyes. The image seems to lack conviction. It comes across as quite passive perhaps because its is out of focus but could also because it is without identity. It could also be read as quite sexualised. 

I went home again last weekend. I only stayed one night because I was heading up to Newcastle for my brothers birthday. I would have liked to stay longer.  My bedroom at university doesn't get much light.

My hand

It looks, to me, like the hand is being pulled in by lots of other hands. I made the photogram while I was waiting.

My window by night

This is the view from my window tonight. The car park is emptier than usual and until about 30 seconds ago there were no sirens. People have started going home for the weekend. I'm going tomorrow.

I like how the reflection fades into the building. You can see exactly what's in front of me, and behind.

After reading the chapter on Documentary Photography in The Photograph by Graham Clarke I started to think about what it is to document something and how the approach needs to be adapted to the subject. In this case the subject is 'an issue pertinent to my own photographic truth/reality'. So, what is the issue and what is my photographic reality? I don't have a clue what my photographic reality is so I'm just going to think in terms of 'general' reality and the issue, I have chosen to be 'exposure'. 

I thought about exposure because the first word that came in to my head, when asked to describe this point in my life, was 'exposed'. Exposed to complete independence. The need to be self-sufficient, the things I have seen and situations I have dealt with but probably the most daunting of all, to me, is the only reason I am here; Photography. Though clearly I have been aware of this exposure I have never struggled with it, it has more been a cause to question; A lack of certainty. 

According to Graham Clarke's book I understand 'document' to mean 'evidence' - 'a truthful account not to be questioned'. The widespread view is that this type of photography should seek to be as objective as possible and while it is recognised that this neutrality is limited by the social and cultural background of the both the photographed and the photographer surely this limitation reaches a new level when we attempt to act as passive recorders of our own lives. If there is one thing we cannot detach our selves from it is ourselves. Recognising this, I am not going to attempt to be phlegmatic in my approach but instead create a series of involved images, perhaps visual metaphors that intend to describe feeling.

With the exception of maybe a couple of the images posted so far, it is obvious that they do not fall into this frame. This is partly because when taking them I was yet to recognise my aims but also, I took most of them at home. At home I don't relate to the 'issue' outlined above in any way. I still think that shooting my first film at home made for a good springboard from which to launch my ideas, if for no other reason than seeing what I don't want in order to see what I do.

My Window by Day

This is the view from my window as it looked on the day I arrived back in Nottingham. I can pretty much always hear sirens when I sit by it. I have actually come to like the sound which when you think about it is a bit... wrong?

On the road to Nottingham

These are images I took from the car when my dad drove me back to university from home. They were taken on my compact digital camera so they are relatively low resolution but I quite like the grain. There are arrows pointing forward, mirrors looking back and everything sped by in seconds except the sky. Thats why these three are the ones I chose.

Home4

I think I prefer this in colour but haven't had a chance to enlarged it yet.

Home3

I quite like the softness of the background against the harsh barbs.

Home2

I took this image on the same walk while I was at home. I enlarged this print in the colour dark room using a multiple exposure to create a slight doubling of the detail. This has resulted in a sense of movement, almost vibration, which I think gives the picture a greater sense of energy as the flock of crows take flight.  

Home

This is the field next to my house. This is what winter looks like in that field. 

I took the picture on 35mm colour film and developed copies in both colour and black and white. The image posted is a scan of one of my black and white experiments. 

What's visible here is only about a sixth of the original frame making it very grainy and raw looking.